Lu Wangchuan replied calmly.
"I am not yet capable of being as shameless as you."
Yun Mengyao was not angry either; getting angry with someone who was about to become a dead person was not worth it.
She shook her head.
"Do you have any last words to say?"
"I am returning those exact words to you."
Lu Wangchuan replied indifferently, drawing a chorus of uproar from the countless people beneath the entire arena.
"Is this brat out of his mind? How can he hold Yun Mengyao in such disregard?"
"Could it be that he has already successfully stepped into the Condensing Truth Realm?"
"What the hell, how is that possible? He seems to have just turned nineteen this year! Even the strongest genius of the sect, Young Master Zhao Yanlong, broke through to the Condensing Truth Realm at twenty!"
"Yet if he hasn't broken through to the Condensing Truth Realm, how would he dare to rush onto the arena?"
The people off the stage were no fools, and they had already vaguely guessed the truth of this matter.
Li Tianxiang clenched his fists tightly upon hearing those words.
He is actually even more of a genius than my Meng Yao!
This was something he could not endure; Yun Mengyao existed like a goddess in his eyes.
Zhao Yanlong was a threshold that no one could surpass, and that was something he could not change, but for even Lu Wangchuan to surpass Yun Mengyao stirred up boundless resentment within his heart.
It felt as though the thing he cherished most was inferior to someone else's.
Second Elder gently patted his shoulder and consoled him.
"There is no need to be overly agitated. This brat might have broken through to the Condensing Truth Realm, but it is impossible for him to have cultivated to the Condensing Truth Realm Late Stage! There is a heaven-and-earth difference between the early and late stages of the Condensing Truth Realm.
As long as Meng Yao kills him, we can sit back and relax without a single worry."
"Grandfather's words are right, but Cheng Yunxiao will definitely not stand by and let Meng Yao kill him."
"The fact that you can think of this shows that you have matured. However, do not forget that you still have your grandfather. The Sect Grand Ceremony does not allow anyone to cause a disturbance; if he attempts to make a move, I will stop him the very first instant and buy Meng Yao enough time to execute Lu Wangchuan!"
"Good!"
Li Tianxiang clenched his fists, an excited light flashing in his eyes.
So what if he was a genius?
As long as he died, no matter how gifted he was, he would amount to nothing more than a patch of yellow soil.
When that time came, the sect's most dazzling second figure—and also its most dazzling woman—would still be the goddess in his heart.
On the stage, Yun Mengyao smiled indifferently.
"The ignorant are fearless. Considering the sentiment of us sharing the same master, I will use my strongest ultimate technique to send you off on your final journey."
She intended to employ her forbidden technique because she possessed a sharp mind and had guessed that Cheng Yunxiao beneath the stage might interfere.
Within the same lineage, every elder favored their own; they protected their own short-comings.
A genius like Lu Wangchuan was worth Cheng Yunxiao, an elder of the Law Enforcement Hall, personally breaking sect rules to rescue.
Therefore, she had to deliver a fatal blow to Lu Wangchuan without giving him any opportunity.
A burst of spiritual qi erupted, and a phoenix cry echoed from within Yun Mengyao's body.
At that instant, a sense of pressure seemingly filled the air, causing the disciples who were still lingering in the Physical Body Realm to feel their heartbeats accelerate, their entire bodies' strength seemingly unable to manifest.
"It's the Phoenix Cry Art! The forbidden technique she cultivated is actually the Phoenix Cry Art."
"Rumor has it that the Phoenix Cry Art was created by a mighty figure of the ancient era. When executed, it can manifest the majesty of a phoenix, possessing a natural suppression effect on the human race."
"The Phoenix Cry Art is easily ranked in the top ten among the sect's forbidden techniques, and judging by the power radiating from her, she has likely cultivated it to at least the sixth layer!"
"Too terrifying. Yun Mengyao's aptitude is truly monstrous. This time, that Lu Wangchuan is finished for sure."
An expression of appreciation appeared in Second Elder's eyes. First, he appreciated Yun Mengyao's aptitude, and second, he appreciated her temperament; she had likely already guessed that Cheng Yunxiao would make a move, which was why she prepared to use her strongest power from the very beginning to execute Lu Wangchuan.
Brilliant strategy!
Such boldness!
A woman like this possessed both brains and aptitude; if she could become his granddaughter-in-law, she would provide immense assistance to his grandson in the future.
Thinking of this, he also began to circulate the spiritual qi within his body, preparing at any moment to stop Cheng Yunxiao from saving him.
Lu Wangchuan was destined to die today!
Finally, accompanied by a heaven-shaking phoenix cry, Yun Mengyao made her move.
At that moment, the phantom of a golden phoenix seemed to appear behind her, and her speed was elevated to the utmost limit, even surpassing the limit of what ordinary people could observe with the naked eye.
Below the Dantian Realm within the Physical Body Realm, there was not even anyone capable of catching her afterimage.
So fast!
This thought flashed through everyone's minds. In their view, Lu Wangchuan was practically doomed to die beyond a doubt in this instant.
Yet, no one expected that the moment Yun Mengyao arrived before Lu Wangchuan, he would fiercely strike.
The phantoms of a giant elephant and a divine dragon suddenly appeared behind his back.
A high-pitched roar of a dragon and trumpet of an elephant erupted, and the clouds in the sky seemed to be shaken.
Lu Wangchuan met Yun Mengyao head-on, smashing down from above.
Boom—!
Only a heaven-shaking loud noise was heard, mingled with a faint, sorrowful cry of a phoenix, and the earth began to tremble violently.
Dust and smoke billowed, and a shock wave swept rapidly outward, blowing many disciples with low cultivation directly flying away.
"Wah-ah—!"
The entire tremor lasted for a long, long time before it slowly began to subside.
Until the dust and smoke cleared, everyone hastily widened their eyes and looked over.
"What happened?"
Yet when they saw Yun Mengyao lying on the ground with a gaping hole blasted through her chest, breathing out more than she breathed in, all of their pupils shrank in terror, a wave of chill surging up their spines, and their bodies starting to shiver.
Yun Mengyao had lost!
"What... what is going on here?"
"How is this possible?"
"Impossible, I don't believe it!"
They had guessed that this battle would end in a matter of seconds because everyone knew this was an unequal duel.
Yet the outcome they guessed was completely the opposite. They originally thought Lu Wangchuan would be executed, but the result was that Yun Mengyao was executed!
And she was killed in a single instant!
One had to know that this was Yun Mengyao!
Yun Mengyao, the second-ranked genius of the entire sect who had already stepped into the Condensing Truth Realm Late Stage, had actually been killed in a single move. Who would dare believe it if word spread?
This simply subverted their worldview!
Second Elder stood frozen in place, even forgetting what he ought to be doing.
Originally, he had prepared to guard against Cheng Yunxiao, but Cheng Yunxiao hadn't made a move at all—or to put it bluntly, he didn't need to make a move, because Lu Wangchuan had already surpassed Yun Mengyao. Not only would he not lose, but he would win instead!
Looking at the youth standing steadfast upon the arena, he felt a trace of trembling; at this moment, a sliver of fear even welled up within him.
He had a feeling that this youth's future would definitely be extraordinary.
He even began to regret supporting Yun Mengyao in making an enemy of Lu Wangchuan.
This sort of fear was something no one in the entire sect had ever given him, not even the sect's first-ranked Young Master Zhao Yanlong; he had never felt such terror.
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